The Lefferts Theater was on the south side of Liberty Avenue and 122nd St. It was three blocks down from the Lefferts Blvd. subway terminus. It had a big (and I thought very handsome) marquee with flashing yellow script lettering. I thought it was the best feature of the theater.
I’m happy to say that I am way too young to have a “personal experience” with either The Farrell or The Park theater. I was born in ‘59 and I believe both of those theaters closed by the late fifties. As I have noted on those theater’s pages, I was quite surprised that there were any theaters at all in South Ozone Park in general and on Rockaway Blvd in particular as this was never a big commercial strip or hub. Certainly not in the same vein as Liberty or Jamaica Avenues. But, in the era when Radio was prime entertainment, I guess these theaters were able to hold on until the advent of Television.
p.s. I don’t know where to get the theater number. It doesn’t appear on the page. I only see it when I get an emial response to a comment. In the meantime just type in south Ozone Park under “City” and these two theaters will pop up.
What great news! Did you get any sense of a timetable? Would the new entrance be on West 41st Street? We need more Legit Houses on Broadway. Notwithstanding a lot of show closures in the last month, Broadway is having it’s best year ever and more renovated top tier theaters are needed. The Miller Theater in the Bank of America Tower will join the scene in late 2008 and (on another theater page) it was stated that the Schuberts are planning a new theater on 8th Avenue.
I’ve been chagrined to see the history of so many theaters on Rockaway Blvd in South Ozone Park. First “The Park”, then “The Farrell” and now “The New Ozone”. I’ve said before on other theater sites that I found it hard to believe that this area could support any theaters since it was not a big commerical street. Certainly not on a par with Liberty Avenue which had a subway and consequently three relatively large theaters: The Crossbay, The Casino and The Lefferts.
But I guess, way back when, in the era before television the only nice night out probably revolved around a theater; especially if you were in search of air conditioning. Sitting in front of a radio must have gotten old real fast!
Nevertheless, none of these theaters survived into the 60’s and even the Liberty Avenue theaters (while better locate) also didn’t make it to the new century.
So the “New Ozone” above is now a church, but Warren references “The Ozone Park” on 101st St. This theater does not have it’s own listing. Does anyone have any additional info?
I was on a passing A train on my way back from Kennedy Airport and I can say officially that the Crossbay II is now, in fact, a huge Marshall’s! It’s a big improvement over the mostrosity that was the Crossbay II.
If you’re interested in theaters in South Ozone Park, look up The Farrell Theater on Rockaway Blvd and 118th St. In addition, there is some additional discussion of the Farrell Theater on the Lefferts Theater page (in nearby Richmond Hill).
If you’re interested in theaters in South Ozone Park, look up The Farrell Theater on Rockaway Blvd and 118th St. In addition, there is some additional discussion of the Farrell Theater on the Lefferts Theater page (in nearby Richmond Hill).
My guess is that it is a more recent name. It was definitely an old theater and the “Metro” name was in really big letters. I’m hoping that a local Houstonian will read this and solve the mystery. Thanks Warren!
Hi Ed, I was just about to post the same info and saw that you beat me to it. The gentrification of Times Square goes on! I believe that almpst the entire block is coming down with the exception of the Southern corner.
I just returned from my first trip to Houston. I was there for a suburban wedding, but had a chance to drive around the downtown area and was shocked to see so little historical buildings remaining in this 4th largest city in America. The streets were pretty desolate. I thought that all of the old movie palaces had been demolished. This doesn’t surprise me as I know that Houston has little interest in preservation, and to add insult to injury, doesn’t care much for zoning laws. Nonetheless, I was driving down a street close to what I think was the old city hall and saw a theater marquee that looked like an old palace. The marquee bore the name “METRO”. This theater is not listed on CT under this name. I assumed it would be listed so I didn’t note the address. Does anyone recognize this theater? Is it possible that it was (is) strictly a legit theater?
Update on the Victoria Theater’s redevelopment plans. This excerpt comes from the July 26th 2007 edition of The New York Sun about all of the development projects underway in Harlem;
“Real estate and community leaders expect the Empire State Development Corporation and its subsidiary, the Harlem Community Development Corporation, to finally select a developer for the Victoria Theater site on West 125th Street. As reported in The New York Sun last month, the Jazz Museum in Harlem is part of a bid by Danforth Development Partners to renovate the Victoria Theater. The Jazz Museum would get between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. The buildings would include two theaters to be used by the Classical Theater of Harlem, the Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company, and the Harlem School of Arts.”
This is great news as it appears that the theater will in fact be restored and will once again become a performing arts space. This is wonderful for Harlem and the City of New York.
I was just passing through Lake George this weekend and it appeared to be a very lively tourist destination with a lot of options to entertain. Options include a restored Fort William Henry, various lake crusies, Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House, Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum, Six Flag’s Great Escape and what appeared to be at least a dozen Fancy Miniature Golf Courses (the type you usually see down south). Nonetheless, I believe the sheer number of tourists in this area, many with families, could support at least one theater; even as a seasonal operation. I’m surprised that this town doesn’t have one.
The Kodak Theater was built speicifically to host the Oscars. There is no way they would move it to Radio City. In the aftermath of 9/11 many people suggested that the Oscars be moved to Radio City as a show of support to New York. Though it was discussed it was never really a possibility since most of the award nominees and their entourages are based in LA and it would have been a logistical nightmare to do it here. And this was BEFORE they built The Kodak. Then it was suggested that some of the awards be awarded in New York in a tandem ceremony, but that too was rejected. I’m grateful that Radio City does get to host the Tony’s every year and the ocassional Grammy’s, but we will never see an Oscar show here. I would love to be wrong though!
I just came back from a weekend trip to Saratoga Springs and noticed a movie ticket booth in front of a retail establishment on Broadway. When I stepped back I realized that this building very much used to be be a very handsome theater. The exterior has been beautifully preserved and the ticket booth has been incorporated as a display case for the store. The building has two beautiful white columns. Above the columns written into building is “Bijou”. Was this a subsequent name for the Congress Theater or is this another theater? I’m afraid I don’t remember the actual address or the name of the retail establishment. I assumed that such a prominent building that had obviously been a theater would already be posted on CT with all of the requisite informantion. I’m sorry I wasn’t more thorough. If anyone else has any more info I’d love to read it!
p.s. It was night time when I saw the theater and it did not appear that any of the interior was saved based on what I could see from the street, but I could be wrong.
“The Miller” is a sure thing and will be built as part of the “Bank Of America” tower which takes up the eastern portion of the block bounded by 6th Avenue, W. 43rd and W. 42nd Streets. Tha facade of the original theater was spared while the rest of the original structure was demolished. The entrance will remain on W. 43rd St. Some of the original details from the theater were removed and stored prior to demolition and will be incorporated into the new theater structure. I don’t know if it will keep the “Miller” name upon reopening. My guess is that they’ll sell the naming rights to the highest bidder.
I’m curious about the other two projects referenced above regarding the Schuberts and Disney. Can you provide any additional info?
The status of this theater should be changed to OPEN as I was there opening day back in April of 2006. While I was able to see the grand retorations of the lobby, lounges and concession areas, I was not able to see the auditorium since I didn’t have the time to stay for live/multi media presentation. (see post from 4/16/06) To date, no one has posted about the theater interior. Has anyone been there? Is the format still the same,(Aztec history), or have other programs been introduced? Are films ever screened here?
The photo link posted on 4/3/06 by Lost Memory documents what I saw on opening day. However, there are no photos of the actual auditorium in that album. I tried the theater link above and it doesn’t work. I hope this theater is still open.
Warren, thanks for the goldfish stories! The Valenica was the only theater I ever went to that had goldfish in their fountain. I remember it so clearly. My junior high school graduation was held at The Valencia in June of 1973. Warren, were you tending the fish then?
On another note, I don’t remember there being a Gimbels either. I think that might have been mentioned in that article in error.
Thanks Lost Memory for that Jamaica link! Great info. Where was the Gimbels store? I know where Montgomery Wards, Macy’s and Mays were, but not Gimbels. I think I also remember WT Grants which I’m pretty sure was a department store that went bankrupt in the 70’s. Robert Hall (a large mens wear store) was also in Jamaica before also going bankrupt. It’s little wonder the Valencia was not able to hold on with everything falling apart around it.
There were also two huge furniture stores in Jamaica, Saks New York (not to be confused with high end Sak’s Fifth Avenue and a store I think was called Kurtz (and no I’m not confusing it with Gertz Department Store) :–) By the way, I just remembered Gertz’s tag line…..“Where Long Island Shops”!
As much as I loved the Valencia, I do remember thinking twice about going due to the decline of the area in the 70’s. Though Jamaica never declined to the levels of other inner city neighborhoods in the city it was definitely pretty bad for Queens. I’m happy to see that there has been a lot of improvement over the last few years. There is a lot more on the drawing boards. I wish them luck!
So, how did the vote go? Will it be saved? Alaska has an enviable wealth of natural beauty. It would be an incerdible shame to see them lose one of the few man made wonders. I was in Alaska for a week last year and the capitol building in Juneau was rather hideous. Other than some buildings form the gold rush era there isn’t much “modern” architecture in Alaska worth saving. This theater appears to be one of the special ones.
Hey Warren, I was totally joking about the theater being credited to Lamb. However, I find the fact that he might have even a small connection to this theater amusing considering that I said it in jest. Thanks for the research.
Thanks Warren. You’re right, the theater business is not one of modesty, but when they say “the most beautiful theater on Long Island” and there’s a theater like the Willard just one neighborhood over, well that takes cajones! I will agree that it was the most beautiful theater in Richmond Hill (at least until the RKO Keith’s was built on 118th St. and Myrtle.
Thanks LM for checking. I’m not at all disputing your source. I’m just amazed at this theater’s past. I’m sure the organ was long gone by 1970 when I first started attending this theater.
I also remember this theater as having a very small lobby which also dosen’t make much sense for a theater that claims to have had 1,500 seats but I guess the argument could be made that more seats is more revenue so why waste space with a huge lobby.
Thanks Charlie for the info! While I am always disappointed to find out that a theater is taken out of “service” to the public I am always gratified when the alternate function is that of a church. Over the years, more theaters have been (pardon the pun) faithfully preserved by religious orders than any other alternate use. I hope they prove to be great stewards of this theater and, someday, I hope to pop in to the theater that my parents went to so many years ago (though I will most defintely NOT stay for the service.
It would also be nice to see some interior shots once if the church allows it. I haven’t seen any interiors posted previously.
The Lefferts Theater was on the south side of Liberty Avenue and 122nd St. It was three blocks down from the Lefferts Blvd. subway terminus. It had a big (and I thought very handsome) marquee with flashing yellow script lettering. I thought it was the best feature of the theater.
I’m happy to say that I am way too young to have a “personal experience” with either The Farrell or The Park theater. I was born in ‘59 and I believe both of those theaters closed by the late fifties. As I have noted on those theater’s pages, I was quite surprised that there were any theaters at all in South Ozone Park in general and on Rockaway Blvd in particular as this was never a big commercial strip or hub. Certainly not in the same vein as Liberty or Jamaica Avenues. But, in the era when Radio was prime entertainment, I guess these theaters were able to hold on until the advent of Television.
p.s. I don’t know where to get the theater number. It doesn’t appear on the page. I only see it when I get an emial response to a comment. In the meantime just type in south Ozone Park under “City” and these two theaters will pop up.
What great news! Did you get any sense of a timetable? Would the new entrance be on West 41st Street? We need more Legit Houses on Broadway. Notwithstanding a lot of show closures in the last month, Broadway is having it’s best year ever and more renovated top tier theaters are needed. The Miller Theater in the Bank of America Tower will join the scene in late 2008 and (on another theater page) it was stated that the Schuberts are planning a new theater on 8th Avenue.
I’ve been chagrined to see the history of so many theaters on Rockaway Blvd in South Ozone Park. First “The Park”, then “The Farrell” and now “The New Ozone”. I’ve said before on other theater sites that I found it hard to believe that this area could support any theaters since it was not a big commerical street. Certainly not on a par with Liberty Avenue which had a subway and consequently three relatively large theaters: The Crossbay, The Casino and The Lefferts.
But I guess, way back when, in the era before television the only nice night out probably revolved around a theater; especially if you were in search of air conditioning. Sitting in front of a radio must have gotten old real fast!
Nevertheless, none of these theaters survived into the 60’s and even the Liberty Avenue theaters (while better locate) also didn’t make it to the new century.
So the “New Ozone” above is now a church, but Warren references “The Ozone Park” on 101st St. This theater does not have it’s own listing. Does anyone have any additional info?
I was on a passing A train on my way back from Kennedy Airport and I can say officially that the Crossbay II is now, in fact, a huge Marshall’s! It’s a big improvement over the mostrosity that was the Crossbay II.
If you’re interested in theaters in South Ozone Park, look up The Farrell Theater on Rockaway Blvd and 118th St. In addition, there is some additional discussion of the Farrell Theater on the Lefferts Theater page (in nearby Richmond Hill).
If you’re interested in theaters in South Ozone Park, look up The Farrell Theater on Rockaway Blvd and 118th St. In addition, there is some additional discussion of the Farrell Theater on the Lefferts Theater page (in nearby Richmond Hill).
My guess is that it is a more recent name. It was definitely an old theater and the “Metro” name was in really big letters. I’m hoping that a local Houstonian will read this and solve the mystery. Thanks Warren!
Hi Ed, I was just about to post the same info and saw that you beat me to it. The gentrification of Times Square goes on! I believe that almpst the entire block is coming down with the exception of the Southern corner.
p.s. I think it was out by Texas Avenue or at least in that part of town.
I just returned from my first trip to Houston. I was there for a suburban wedding, but had a chance to drive around the downtown area and was shocked to see so little historical buildings remaining in this 4th largest city in America. The streets were pretty desolate. I thought that all of the old movie palaces had been demolished. This doesn’t surprise me as I know that Houston has little interest in preservation, and to add insult to injury, doesn’t care much for zoning laws. Nonetheless, I was driving down a street close to what I think was the old city hall and saw a theater marquee that looked like an old palace. The marquee bore the name “METRO”. This theater is not listed on CT under this name. I assumed it would be listed so I didn’t note the address. Does anyone recognize this theater? Is it possible that it was (is) strictly a legit theater?
Update on the Victoria Theater’s redevelopment plans. This excerpt comes from the July 26th 2007 edition of The New York Sun about all of the development projects underway in Harlem;
“Real estate and community leaders expect the Empire State Development Corporation and its subsidiary, the Harlem Community Development Corporation, to finally select a developer for the Victoria Theater site on West 125th Street. As reported in The New York Sun last month, the Jazz Museum in Harlem is part of a bid by Danforth Development Partners to renovate the Victoria Theater. The Jazz Museum would get between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. The buildings would include two theaters to be used by the Classical Theater of Harlem, the Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company, and the Harlem School of Arts.”
This is great news as it appears that the theater will in fact be restored and will once again become a performing arts space. This is wonderful for Harlem and the City of New York.
I was just passing through Lake George this weekend and it appeared to be a very lively tourist destination with a lot of options to entertain. Options include a restored Fort William Henry, various lake crusies, Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House, Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum, Six Flag’s Great Escape and what appeared to be at least a dozen Fancy Miniature Golf Courses (the type you usually see down south). Nonetheless, I believe the sheer number of tourists in this area, many with families, could support at least one theater; even as a seasonal operation. I’m surprised that this town doesn’t have one.
The Kodak Theater was built speicifically to host the Oscars. There is no way they would move it to Radio City. In the aftermath of 9/11 many people suggested that the Oscars be moved to Radio City as a show of support to New York. Though it was discussed it was never really a possibility since most of the award nominees and their entourages are based in LA and it would have been a logistical nightmare to do it here. And this was BEFORE they built The Kodak. Then it was suggested that some of the awards be awarded in New York in a tandem ceremony, but that too was rejected. I’m grateful that Radio City does get to host the Tony’s every year and the ocassional Grammy’s, but we will never see an Oscar show here. I would love to be wrong though!
I just came back from a weekend trip to Saratoga Springs and noticed a movie ticket booth in front of a retail establishment on Broadway. When I stepped back I realized that this building very much used to be be a very handsome theater. The exterior has been beautifully preserved and the ticket booth has been incorporated as a display case for the store. The building has two beautiful white columns. Above the columns written into building is “Bijou”. Was this a subsequent name for the Congress Theater or is this another theater? I’m afraid I don’t remember the actual address or the name of the retail establishment. I assumed that such a prominent building that had obviously been a theater would already be posted on CT with all of the requisite informantion. I’m sorry I wasn’t more thorough. If anyone else has any more info I’d love to read it!
p.s. It was night time when I saw the theater and it did not appear that any of the interior was saved based on what I could see from the street, but I could be wrong.
“The Miller” is a sure thing and will be built as part of the “Bank Of America” tower which takes up the eastern portion of the block bounded by 6th Avenue, W. 43rd and W. 42nd Streets. Tha facade of the original theater was spared while the rest of the original structure was demolished. The entrance will remain on W. 43rd St. Some of the original details from the theater were removed and stored prior to demolition and will be incorporated into the new theater structure. I don’t know if it will keep the “Miller” name upon reopening. My guess is that they’ll sell the naming rights to the highest bidder.
I’m curious about the other two projects referenced above regarding the Schuberts and Disney. Can you provide any additional info?
Thanks!
The status of this theater should be changed to OPEN as I was there opening day back in April of 2006. While I was able to see the grand retorations of the lobby, lounges and concession areas, I was not able to see the auditorium since I didn’t have the time to stay for live/multi media presentation. (see post from 4/16/06) To date, no one has posted about the theater interior. Has anyone been there? Is the format still the same,(Aztec history), or have other programs been introduced? Are films ever screened here?
The photo link posted on 4/3/06 by Lost Memory documents what I saw on opening day. However, there are no photos of the actual auditorium in that album. I tried the theater link above and it doesn’t work. I hope this theater is still open.
Warren, thanks for the goldfish stories! The Valenica was the only theater I ever went to that had goldfish in their fountain. I remember it so clearly. My junior high school graduation was held at The Valencia in June of 1973. Warren, were you tending the fish then?
On another note, I don’t remember there being a Gimbels either. I think that might have been mentioned in that article in error.
Thanks Lost Memory for that Jamaica link! Great info. Where was the Gimbels store? I know where Montgomery Wards, Macy’s and Mays were, but not Gimbels. I think I also remember WT Grants which I’m pretty sure was a department store that went bankrupt in the 70’s. Robert Hall (a large mens wear store) was also in Jamaica before also going bankrupt. It’s little wonder the Valencia was not able to hold on with everything falling apart around it.
There were also two huge furniture stores in Jamaica, Saks New York (not to be confused with high end Sak’s Fifth Avenue and a store I think was called Kurtz (and no I’m not confusing it with Gertz Department Store) :–) By the way, I just remembered Gertz’s tag line…..“Where Long Island Shops”!
As much as I loved the Valencia, I do remember thinking twice about going due to the decline of the area in the 70’s. Though Jamaica never declined to the levels of other inner city neighborhoods in the city it was definitely pretty bad for Queens. I’m happy to see that there has been a lot of improvement over the last few years. There is a lot more on the drawing boards. I wish them luck!
So, how did the vote go? Will it be saved? Alaska has an enviable wealth of natural beauty. It would be an incerdible shame to see them lose one of the few man made wonders. I was in Alaska for a week last year and the capitol building in Juneau was rather hideous. Other than some buildings form the gold rush era there isn’t much “modern” architecture in Alaska worth saving. This theater appears to be one of the special ones.
Hey Warren, I was totally joking about the theater being credited to Lamb. However, I find the fact that he might have even a small connection to this theater amusing considering that I said it in jest. Thanks for the research.
Thanks Warren. You’re right, the theater business is not one of modesty, but when they say “the most beautiful theater on Long Island” and there’s a theater like the Willard just one neighborhood over, well that takes cajones! I will agree that it was the most beautiful theater in Richmond Hill (at least until the RKO Keith’s was built on 118th St. and Myrtle.
Well what d'ya know! It’s a Lamb theater to boot! :–) It makes me wonder how many other large unidentified theaters are out there.
Thanks LM for checking. I’m not at all disputing your source. I’m just amazed at this theater’s past. I’m sure the organ was long gone by 1970 when I first started attending this theater.
I also remember this theater as having a very small lobby which also dosen’t make much sense for a theater that claims to have had 1,500 seats but I guess the argument could be made that more seats is more revenue so why waste space with a huge lobby.
Thanks Charlie for the info! While I am always disappointed to find out that a theater is taken out of “service” to the public I am always gratified when the alternate function is that of a church. Over the years, more theaters have been (pardon the pun) faithfully preserved by religious orders than any other alternate use. I hope they prove to be great stewards of this theater and, someday, I hope to pop in to the theater that my parents went to so many years ago (though I will most defintely NOT stay for the service.
It would also be nice to see some interior shots once if the church allows it. I haven’t seen any interiors posted previously.